Concert Review / MOIP + 123 @ Brillobox

It had been a long while since I'd seen a proper Meeting of Important People rawk band show. It felt like a year or more, but it was really only like 6 months. Still, that's WAY too long to go without a rip-roarin' set of garage pop tunes, guitar flailing, fast-paced drums, and good ol' fashioned fun times.

I grabbed dinner downstairs at the Brillobox before the show. You have to try the seitan gyro. I think it's pretty new on the menu (I hadn't seen it before) and it was absolutely delicious. Perfectly spiced, nice texture, generously saucy. Yummo. I went upstairs a short while after The Whiskey Holler started their set. I'd only caught these dudes once before, at the Thunderbird back in September, and I was really surprised by how great they were that first time. I wasn't expecting them to be bad, not at all, but it was one of those really pleasant surprises where you don't know the band, have no expectations, and then they rock your socks off and you find yourself grinning halfway through because you know you've stumbled on greatness. Yeah, it was like that. This time around, the crowd was kinda chatty and the band was playing as an acoustic duo (or trio, perhaps?) so it didn't come across nearly as well as I remembered/had hoped. I still enjoyed their twangy rock tunes, but I wish everyone else was paying better attention. I suppose I should have gone up and stood closer but I didn't feel like navigating the already dense crowd. They play around town a lot, so I'll be sure to catch 'em again soon, and I recommend you do the same. In the meantime, dig this live recording from a Howlers set. It is fantastic. Also, check out this story they posted on their blog last month. Love the story-telling style, fellas.



Meeting of Important People got up next and did what they do best: everything. Josh announced that they'd essentially taken the entire fall season off from concert-playing and put together an entire new full-length album of material that they're very eager to share. Huzzah! They've slipped a couple of new songs into their repertoire over the last year or so, and I've wondered how those were coming along and whether they had any album plans. Now we know. Check out the Kickstarter campaign that they launched last week for more info about it; they want to do all the recording themselves, sans labels and PR and all that monkey business. More power to ya, boys. And readers, throw 'em a few bucks. You won't regret it when you hear what comes out of it all. As I was watching them play, I realized that I've written so many review of their shows, it's pointless to reiterate the fun and tunefulness they exude, so I went and did something I remember doing way back when I was just a fanboy, listening to their record on my iPod, seeing them for the first or second time: I copied down their setlist on my phone while they played. Yup. This is direct copy/paste from the document so you can see my silly notes, unedited.

britney lane
hanky church
(verba nets vs. ver baah nets)
leaving here
its alright to let the old folks go (with bullshit indie rock ending)
one o clock
big muscles
we gotta get outta this place
I know every street
innocents abound (guest shaker)
dead man
good for your bones, punk rawk
training song
leap the dips
boys
??? New song, for when you're higher than hell
nothings goin on
school (nirvana)


1,2,3 came up last and played a bunch of songs from New Heaven, and one new song from an upcoming thing they're working on. The crowd was really into it, although it seemed a little thinner than it had been earlier. I learned that the bassist used to be in Juliana Theory. There's a fun fact for ya. They played my favorite tune of theirs, "Riding Coach". That one always sounds good, and I'm really impressed with how well it comes across in person, too. It almost feels like a headphones song, but they nail it live, even Nic's falsetto. Great stuff. I noticed they had their own sound guy working the board, which I don't see too often from local bands, so they must be prepping him for a tour or something? Sounded pretty good, considering the usual Brillo crowd which, by the way, was waaaayyy worse during this set than usual. Nic actually called out a group of super chatty folks right in the front. "Hey, girl in the glasses, yeah, you, hey, you" … and she still didn't notice! Somebody standing behind her had to poke her drunk ass (not literally, she was just being a drunk ass) to get her attention and get her to shut up so they could play a quiet tune. Yowza. Meanwhile, some other really drunk girl kept "dancing" and stumbling around and falling onto the stage, and Josh's ride cymbal kept falling off the stand (the top notch was broken, I think) and a pink-haried lady in the front kept graciously going up to fix it when it tumbled (which happened at least four or five times). Overall, it was a kinda up-and-down set, logistics-wise, but the music sounded good to my ears, which is all that really matters, right?

Cover jam of the day, and a vinyl find at Jerry's Records: "Come On Down To My Boat"

Artist: Every Mother's Son / Meeting of Important People / The Rare Breed
Song: "Come On Down To My Boat"

Like many other vinyl fans in Pittsburgh, I trekked to Jerry's Records this past weekend after hearing he was planning to give away 33,000 records in boxes of LPs and 45s. (Why 33,000? He just likes the number, although I think 33,333 would have made more sense.) He's done giveaways like this before, and I've lucked into some good stuff (check out my "vinyl find" series for some of those). I was already needing to stop by the store and pick up some auction wins anyway (super clean copies of Fresh Cream and Bob Dylan and, as Jerry noted upon pickup, not quantity but definitely quality), so I looked around to see if anything caught my eye. While walking through the "rock" area, one album was sitting at the front of the "miscellaneous E" section and it grabbed my attention: the album Every Mothers' Son by the band Every Mother's Son (note the subtle apostrophic difference). The name was familiar, and in case I couldn't remember, a sticker on the album cover notes the inclusion of "Come On Down To My Boat". Aha! This song was covered by my fave local band, Meeting Of Important People, on last year's Quit Music EP! I don't think I knew for a couple of months after the release that it was even a cover song, but I learned the band's name at some point and it stuck in my head until now.

Based on the cover photo, this is a band of preppy dudes who write bubblegum pop songs, and some web research supports this hypothesis. Wikipedia notes the band's signing to MGM in 1967 was "supposedly because management saw the band's clean-cut image as an antidote to the hippie influx". Haha. But it's strange that the back cover of this album has silly band member bios, and one says "Lary can out-drink the toughest guy on the block" and Christopher is clearly reading an issue of Playboy in his photo. Maybe it's funny because Lary is chugging milk from the carton with a straw, and Christopher is grimacing at the magazine? I dunno. It's also strange that the song is really called "Come On Down To My Boat" yet the back of the album lists it as "Come And Take A Ride In My Boat". The album copy I grabbed is a little scratchy, but it just adds to the nostalgic feel, and the tunes are pretty solid for what they are: sweet and simple pop. ("For Brandy" is a particularly lovely little ditty.)

Enough chit-chat, here are two versions of this pretty and fun tune: Every Mother's Son's 1967 original version first (recorded live for some TV spot, in this particular video; here's a link to the album version), and then Meeting Of Important People's garage pop take on it 43 years later!
 

 

 
"Old garage song about a completely harmless man and his boat."
 
Hey now, hold on there! I just learned that Every Mother's Son aren't even the original recorders of this song! The Rare Breed (later known as The Ohio Express) hold that title, releasing a version entitled "Come And Take A Ride In My Boat" (aha, whence the confusion mentioned above) in 1966, but it never hit the charts. Somehow, Every Mother's Son's version did. There ya have it, folks, the fickleness of the listening public …
 

 

---

Meeting of Important People on the web: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp

Local music notes, April 2011: The Slow Reel, MOIP, The Cynics, Brooke Annibale, Lohio, Nik & the Central Plains

It's impossible to stay in tune with all of the goings-on of the Pgh music scene, I gotta say, but when I find some good and/or interesting stuff, I like to share it with you. So here are some good and/or interesting songs, albums, events, etc. from the very recent past and the very near future.

• The Slow Reel / new single: "We Get Along" b/w "Ain't It Something"

  
  I've caught these guys (and gals) live a couple times around town and have always enjoyed their jams. A recent interview over on Pgh Music Report has singer/bassist Rob describing their sound as "original songs with a classic rock vibe" and that is pretty much perfect. I can definitely hear a carful of youngsters singin' along to "We Get Along" as it blasts from their car radio on a cross country road trip in 1973. Or something like that. Stream the songs below and head to their Bandcamp page to download 'em for FREE.
  
  The Slow Reel: Facebook, Bandcamp

• Meeting of Important People / vinyl release of debut album

  
  I like this band. A lot. I won't belabor that and will get to the point: their debut, self-titled album that came out on CD/digital in the Spring of 2009 is now available on vinyl! The fine folks at Pittsburgh's own Get Hip Recordings had the sharp eye to do this and MOIP's blend of garage rock/pop will fit perfectly in their catalog. I bet these tracks will sound super souped-up on wax, and they've even updated the cover art, opting for a b&w photo of the trio staring you down, with the band name in brightly-colored block lettering. Snazzy. You can find this LP at some record shops around town (I spotted copies at Desolation Row and Mind Cure last weekend, in fact) or you can order direct from the band via their website. They're having an "official" release show at the Thunderbird on May 7, too. Here's their "famous" video for Track 1 from that album, "Brittney Lane Don't Care":
  
  Meeting of Important People: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, Last.fm

• The Cynics / new LP: Spinning Wheel Motel

  
  While we're on the Get Hip topic ... label founders Gregg Kostelich and Michael Kastelic are the guitarist and singer, respectively, of garage rock legends The Cynics. It's a cryin' shame how little recognition they seem to get here in the U.S., since word on the street is that they are huge in Europe and yet I saw them a couple weeks ago at a little old place like the 31st Street Pub here in Pittsburgh and it wasn't even full there. What gives?! Anyway, they seem to have an endless supply of deliciously-rockin' 60s psych rock freakouts up their sleeves, and here's another album full of 'em. It's officially out sometime in May (more info here) and in the meantime you can watch the trippy video for Track 1, "I Need More":
  
  The Cynics: Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm

• Brooke Annibale / new album: Silence Worth Breaking

  
  Thanks to a successful Kickstarter project last Fall, Brooke Annibale's third album is now out in the world, and if you hold your hand to your ear, you just may hear some strains of her lovely voice and the lush instrumentation with lots of strings just floating along the breeze ... or you could go buy the album and hear it in all of its full and beautiful detail! For all of the beauty of the songs, though, it's the lyrics that have really kept my attention, especially on "Yours and Mine". So touching. Stream the album below and check out some upcoming shows, too.
  Silence Worth Breaking - "First Listen" by brookeannibale
  Brooke Annibale: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Last.fm

• Lohio / new single: "You've Got Your Fight"

  
  
  These guys have really grown on me, and their Family Tree EP was one of my faves last year. This single came out in March (and was picked up by Paste Magazine!) and shows an interesting, newish style, with some bouncy keys and shouted vocals and little glimmers of feedback on the guitars. It's hard to pinpoint individual influences on the sound, but suffice it to say I really like this new track. Stream it below and enjoy:
  
  Lohio: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, Last.fm
  

• Nik & the Central Plains / new album: Walk on Beaches / CD release shows

  
  Their first, self-titled, album came out just about a year ago, but these guys are already back with more. An article published yesterday in the Tribune-Review has Nik calling that album just a "collection of songs", but they are great, catchy folk-rock songs, at that. I have yet to hear any of the new record, save for whatever they've played at their live shows over the last coupl of months, but I'm sure it will be awesome. They're hosting two CD release shows at the Thunderbird Cafe this weekend; check out my post over on Draw Us Lines for full details on those shows (and many others, in fact!). I'll be at the Saturday show. In the meantime, check out some video I took at their show at Howlers on January 14:
  
  Nik & the Central Plains: Website, Facebook, Last.fm
  (On a related note, I just found this cover version of their song "You're The Blues" by Pittsburghers Boca Chica. Cool!)

So that's what I've found lately. Have any other interesting local songs, albums, events, etc. to share? Let me know about 'em!

Video jams: Local concert footage (Big Snow Big Thaw, Pet Clinic, Nik & the Central Plains, Horse or Cycle, MOIP, etc.)

Just wanted to alert yinz to my YouTube page where I've been posting footage from local concerts here in Pittsburgh (plus some random mp3s that I thought needed to exist on YouTube). Some of the earlier ones were taken on my Android phone and have terrible audio quality; sorry about that. But recently, for Xmas, I acquired a Flip video camera, which takes lovely HD video footage. I don't know the technical audio specs, but it sounds pretty good, particularly acoustic/quiet stuff; loud rockin' sounds test the limits a little bit, depending on how close I was standing to the amp. Bottom line, though: I now have a small, portable, convenient way to take up to 1 hour of HD video/audio at concerts! It's now a goal of mine to record a full set of all of the local bands that I feel others out there should be able to experience in a live setting. (Of course, this relies on me getting a good view and the set being <= 60 minutes, so I'll do what I can.) Watching these is certainly not the same as getting out and seeing them, but it's a pretty good approximation, especially if you don't live around here or what have you. I've embedded below some of the most recent ones, and I'll let you explore my YouTube channel for some others. Enjoy!

Big Snow Big Thaw
at Club Cafe, Thursday February 03, 2011

Part 2 is here.

Pet Clinic
at Thunderbird Cafe, Saturday January 29, 2011

Part 2 is here. Be sure to watch the closing number of Part 2. It's an epic 7 minute song and well worth watching.

Nik & the Central Plains
at Howlers, Friday January 14, 2011

Part 2 is here and Part 3 is here.

Horse or Cycle
at Howlers, Friday January 14, 2011

(They were opening for Nik & the Central Plains so I just taped this one song, this time.)

Meeting of Important People
at Carnegie Lecture Hall in Oakland, Saturday January 15, 2011

(They were opening for Dean & Britta playing Galaxie 500, so I just taped a handful of songs: "I Know Every Street", "Single Girl, Married Girl", "Boys [Beatles cover]", "Our Love", "Broken-Down Storefront". Be sure to check out some of the Galaxie 500 tunes, too: "When Will You Come Home", "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste", etc.)

Concert review: Mariage Blanc, Meeting of Important People, All Tiny Creatures

Mariage Blanc, Meeting of Important People, All Tiny Creatures
Saturday September 4, 2010 at Brillobox
with Leigh, Paul, Lisa

If Meeting of Important People play in town, I am definitely there. It seems like others around Pittsburgh agree with that, since it's always crowded no matter where they play, and this show was no exception. If there are other interesting bands playing, as well, I'll check them out. It seems like others around Pittsburgh don't necessarily agree with that, since the room tends to be far emptier before and after MOIP's set, and this show was no exception. Ahhhh, parallel constructions; they're my least unfavorite literary device, right up there with litotes and semicolons.

I had never heard of All Tiny Creatures and didn't know what to expect. The stage was pretty crowded, with 5 band members and plenty of synths and pedals and equipment, including an Apple laptop. Interestingly, the non-singing bassist was placed front and center while the two guys playing guitar/vocals were on either side, with the drummer and synth/laptop operator towards the back. Their songs were atmospheric and ethereal in effect, mostly, and it seemed like I could easily put them on and lay down on the couch for a strange, trippy nap. Every once in a while, a plunky little keyboard melody or some reverb-laden vocals would puncture their soundscape, but for the most part it was droning guitars and bass and synth with driving drums, building an atmosphere and pulling you into it. This made it hard to tell when their songs officially "ended", save for the bassist looking to the crowd and smiling knowingly, prompting a smattering of applause. Their set ended abruptly on an upnote, a fitting end to some long, swirling jams. I really dug it, and ended up buying their Segni EP on beautiful white 12" vinyl. The blurb on the sleeve mentions that band member Thomas Wincek is also a multi-instrumentralist in Volcano Choir, a side project of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, who also contributes vocals on All Tiny Creatures' upcoming LP. Sweet, looking forward to that.

MOIP played next, interestingly; I expected them to play last since they were listed as a headliner on the bill, but I suppose some people tend to skip out before the end of the show. I definitely noticed that the Brillo's upstairs was totally packed for this part of the show, but rather spacious for the other two bands' sets. I've written about their live shows so many times before that I realized I'd have little to add in this review and instead focused my attention on jotting down the set list. This turned out to be more difficult than I imagined it would be, since they played a couple of new songs (yipee!) that were unnamed. So anyway, here's the list with a descriptor or two for the unnamed ones:
1) Nothing's Goin On
2) Leaving Here (orig. Eddie Holland, also covered by The Who)
3) Brittney Lane Don't Care
4) Innocents Abroad (new, Josh says it's their "Pitchfork song" haha)
5) I Know Every Street In This Town
6) Big Muscles (with backup vocals from Nik Westman who was in the crowd)
7) Single Girl, Married Girl (orig. The Carter Family) [acoustic]
8) Hanky Church [acoustic]
9) Pretzel Rod Blues (Riff Song)
10) Love (I think, at the very least they said that word like 40 times during the song)
11) We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (orig. The Animals)
12) Training Song --> lead into...
13) --> Dead Man
14) One O'Clock
I thought it was funny that Josh kept offering to buy drinks for anyone in the crowd who works for the Carnegie Museums, and that those people in the crowd kept yelling out "Miller!" to the drummer. Also, I think I kept hearing the name Cyndi Lauper in the lyrics of the "Innocents Abroad" song; maybe it's about her? Or maybe I completely misheard...

Mariage Blanc played last, and we stuck around until the end, although many others didn't. Sobeit. I've seen them before and they're all well and good, but it's honestly really tough to follow a MOIP set. Their songs are pretty solid and they sound good on album, but the live show is not overly exciting or engaging. They played a song or two from their previous EP (free download!) and a bunch from their forthcoming album. I'm looking forward to hearing that one, since I think the carefully-crafted arrangements and instrumentation will come across far better on recording than in a live setting, particularly at the perenially-chatty Brillobox.

All Tiny Creatures
MySpace, website, Twitter, Facebook
Live song at the Kitty Kat Club, Minneapolis
Live songs at Hopscotch Music Festival, September 9, 2010
Blurb about "An Iris" on P4k

Meeting of Important People
MySpace, website, Twitter, Facebook
Fascinating interview with lead singer Josh Verbanets from the guys at Draw Us Lines.

Mariage Blanc
MySpace, Twitter, Facebook

Concert review: Meeting of Important People

Meeting of Important People
Saturday July 24, 2010 at Thunderbird Cafe
with Leigh, Paul

This was truly "an evening with MOIP". The local trio played an expansive set of songs-- both originals and covers--including an acoustic session in the middle and completely reaffirmed everything I enjoy about their music and live show. Their songs cover a fairly wide range of subgenres within the pop/rock realm, and individual songs can showcase several of those at the same time. It was particularly nice to see them strip down their sound for the acoustic songs and not lose any of the essential elements of their songcrafting skills. They even played a few covers of other local bands (Lohio and Boca Chica, from what I remember, maybe others).

This was my first time at the Thunderbird, actually. The front bar area had a bunch of stools, a few small tables, and a billiards table and jukebox off in a separate section. There was a decent tap and bottle selection, too, and not too expensive. I'll be looking out for more shows there in the future. The music stage was up a small set of stairs and set off against a painted brick background. Facing that, up another half stairwell, was a section of chairs and tables but that was already completely full of people by the time we got there. Also, it was absolutely pouring out and Leigh and I had walked there from the bus stop at Penn & Main, so we were completely soaked. I think my shoes and socks were still soggy when we left!

We ended up watching most of the show standing towards the middle/back of the area on the stage level, which was a good vantage point for me, at least. They played all of the songs on the new EP, most from the previous self-titled album, a few standard covers they've played at live shows before, and some new (to me) covers. All in all, it was an incredible display of musicianship and stage presence. I will always see these guys play when I can. I was sad to miss their show at the Andy Warhol museum the following week since I was out of town, but they are playing a show at the Brillobox on September 4th!

And shhhh you can download the new EP on their Bandcamp page. In the meantime, their "record label" Authentik Artists (which actually only controls the digital realm, interestingly, leaving CDs and vinyl to the band) has managed to get the new album featured on Spinner Magazine's New Releases page and on the iTunes main page! Fucking awesome! Hope this gives them some much deserved national exposure.

One last anecdote: they gave out free CD copies of the Quit Music EP at the show and I took one and put it in my shorts pocket on the way home and promptly ran that pair thru the laundry without noticing the CD was in it!? The nice CD sleeve was totally ruined, but the CD itself is still good.


Manny Theiner article in the Post-Gazette about the band
Album review by Speed of Pgh Sound
Interview with lead singer Josh in the City Paper
Review of the Warhol museum show the next week by Draw Us Lines

Concert review: The Cynics, Meeting of Important People, Aviation Blondes

I've fallen way behind on show reviews. End of the semester and all that stuff. I'm trying to catch up.

The Cynics, Meeting of Important People, Aviation Blondes
Saturday April 10 2010 at Rex Theatre
with Lisa



This day started as a celebration of the new 75 bus route in the Burgh, which connects Shadyside to the South Side via Ellsworth Ave. It was the first day the route was running, so Rebecca and Lisa and I decided to meet on the bus and enjoy a sunny day on the South Side. When we arrived at the South Side Works, there were tons of people outside, milling about amongst a street full of tents and live music. It turned out to be a Chili Cookoff for local restaurants. We ended up spending a few hours around South Side works, stopping at a coffee shop, an artisanal craft fair, EMS, and Hofbrauhaus, and catching some fun live music from Jimbo & the Soupbones. Later on, we headed farther down Carson Street and stopped in Dave's Music Mine (for records), the Culture Shop (for incense), and the Beehive Coffeehouse (for vegetarian dinner and a drink; apparently after 10 is 21+? wahoo!). All in all, it was an awesome day; it reminded me of how much fun the South Side is, how great nice weather is to enjoy outside with friends, and how easy it is to spend money at the right stores (even for a vehement “non-shopper”).

I'd never been to a concert at the Rex before, only a standup show by Mike Birbiglia in the fall of 2008. I remember it being a large room, with a tiny upstairs viewing balcony, and it made the concert feel pretty empty, even though the front bar area was packed to the brim before the show. It was also an odd crowd for the usual indie rock shows I've been to: mostly older adults, 30s and 40s and above; I didn't see many others around our age. I did bump into a fellow CMU grad student I knew who explained how The Cynics have a huge following all over Europe, selling out big venues in Spain but, for some reason, never getting similar recognition here in the U.S. or even in Pittsburgh. All this meant for me was that I could hang out near the front of the stage comfortably with no one around and get a good view of the bands, and even attempted to take some live action photos/vids (embedded in this post).

Aviation Blondes played first, a local sextet with two female singers (one also played keyboards), two guitarists, a bass player and a drummer. They played generally upbeat and poppy rock songs, lots of melodic lines and synth, nothing too fancy or boundary-pushing but fun nonetheless. One of the female singers had some singing/dancing moves that I can really only describe as “slippery”.



I feel like it appealed far more to the older folks in the crowd. I liked one or two songs well enough, but a 7 or 8 song set from the first opener of 3 bands was way too long, thankyouverymuch.

Meeting of Important People played next, the band we were there to see. They are always so full of energy and excited to play their songs that I don't understand how anyone couldn't love it. They make a good amount of sound for a three-piece, and they can switch so quickly from mellow strumming and soft vocals to fast-riffing, leg-kicking rock 'n roll that it'll make your head spin and bop to the beat.



I've made reference before to their great songs and live show, so I won't say much here except that I will go to see them every chance I have. Also, Lisa and I chatted with the singer Josh after the show and he sympathized with our math nerdiness, saying that he does mathy business work for the Carnegie Museums, among other places.

The Cynics played last with what seemed to be a stripped-down version of their sound, but highly energetic nonetheless. The singer bounced between sitting in a metal chair at the front of the stage and dancing around while banging a tambourine. It was a solid modern version of a 60s garage rock sound, with rocking melodies, beat-driving but not overpowering drums, and enthusiastic singing/occasional yelping. It was a fun set, and I've listened to one of their albums that I got from the library a few times since the show, but unfortunately I was feeling tired and ducked out of the show early to grab a bus back home.



Overall, a fun show. I wish I'd had time to catch more of The Cynics.

Aviation Blondes
Fan video with live footage from this show
“Vehicle” (Ides of March cover) live at sound check at Rex, November 2009
Meaning and etymology of the term “aviation blonde”
Album reviews in the City Paper, Tribune, and Post-Gazette.

MOIP
Some past show reviews of mine.


The Cynics
"I Got You Babe" (Sonny Bono cover)
Live performance at the 1990 Pittsburgh Music Awards!
"Lying All the Time" (The Outsiders cover)
"Blue Train Station"

Get Hip Recordings Company, founded by 2 members of The Cynics.

Concert review: Meeting of Important People, Chet Vincent, Landline @ Brillobox

Meeting of Important People, Chet Vincent and the Big Bend, Landline
Friday January 29, Brillobox
with Asa, Charlotte, Lisa

This show seemed to reinforce everything that I like and dislike about seeing shows at the Brillobox. I bought tickets for this show online a couple weeks in advance thinking it would likely sell out, and also having been turned away at the door at 2 shows in December (Donora and Do Make Say Think (although missing the DMST show led Spencer and me to discover the fun of the Brillobox Wendesday night pub quiz)). On the afternoon of the show, I convinced Asa and Charlotte to come along, as well, and Charlotte attempted to buy tix online but was turned away. She called the venue and whoever answered said that there were plenty of tickets left and as long as they showed up when the doors opened (9:30), they should be fine. And that is precisely what happened. But the place never seemed that full and I saw people being turned away at 10:30 or so. So I'm glad it worked out for us, but too bad for the others.

Anyway, Landline came on first just after 10:00, and they played a solid set of guitar-laden tunes that showed some pretty good variety within that genre, even. There were some melodic Pixies-esque numbers and some more yelpy, punky songs, and overall it was a solid amalgam. The drummer was hammering the skins like he was trying to break them, in rhythm. And he did! He knocked the bass drum mike over multiple times, requiring a guy from the front row, and the sound technician, to fix it (on separate occasions), and at some point he “drummed off” the cap on one of his cymbals. The bass player had crazy skinny arms. But that's irrelevant. The music rocked, even when we were all standing way too close to (i.e. right in front of) the speaker.

Next up was Chet Vincent. We moved away from the speaker during the break and I got an Old Chub at the bar. And then the band started to play. And then we went downstairs. I don't mean to rag on this band because they did have a solid, cohesive sound and if you like a sort of country twinge to your rock music, they might be right up your alley. However, the four of us decided to hang out downstairs for a while, especially since Asa & Charlotte had never been to the Brillobox before. I also told them beforehand that they needed to touch the walls upstairs, referring (in my mind) to the velvety black/white pattern on certain sections of the walls. Charlotte interpreted this differently and looked to me at some point early on in the evening while rubbing the plain, black-painted wall with a mixture of confusion and disappointment. I redirected her to the appropriate section of wall after that.

Anyway, we trekked back upstairs later on to catch MOIP finishing their setup. They launched into an energetic set of some of the songs from their self-titled album, threw in another rendition of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” by the Animals (like the last time I saw them), and played a couple new songs that are supposedly on a forthcoming EP (in the recording process, so says their Myspace page). It was another solid and upbeat set, and the crowd really got into it. They played right over the chatter at the bar and I think I even saw some dancing hipsters!

All in all, a fun night. I enjoyed Landline a lot, personally, and I would gladly watch MOIP play their songs every week, given the chance.

I couldn't any videos of Landline, but they have a few songs up on their Myspace page
MOIP - I Know Every Street in This Town
Chet Vincent and the Big Bend - Blues Song

Concert/Comedy review: Meeting of Important People, Gab Bonesso @ Bricolage Theatre

Meeting of Important People, Gab Bonesso
Friday January 22, Bricolage Theatre (downtown)
with Lisa

This event was apparently part of a larger amalgam of events in the theatre/arts district of downtown Pittsburgh. I found out about this show a few weeks before on the MOIP Myspace page, and then learned on Wednesday about the downtown Gallery Crawl into which this show fit. (I'm not going to let a preposition be where my sentence ends at, dickwad.) I'm sure it would have been fun to see some of the other art events, based on the crowds and sights we saw while speed-walking down the sidewalk to get to the show since our 71C bus had been running a bit late. However, it just didn't work out, especially considering my afternoon was all thrown off after the apparent bomb scare in Wean Hall earlier that day. As it was, Lisa and I arrived downtown around 8:45 and found the Bricolage Theatre at Liberty Ave. & 9th Ave., paid our $10 at the door to get some snazzy wristbands that say “Drinking Age Verified” despite the fact that nobody so much as asked for an ID (it's nice being old, huh?), and stood around in a nice-looking brick walled room with carpeting, comfy chairs and sofas (that were full, alas!) and random paintings/sculptures scattered around the walls. We bought a couple beers from a tall bearded man who appeared later in the night to introduce Gab, revealing himself to be the artistic director of the theatre. A few minutes after 9, the band walked onto the tiny stage in the front right corner of the room and plugged in their guitars. They looked fairly comfortable up there and many times throughout the set I caught the three of them looking at one another and smiling, bobbing their heads and really getting into the groove of their own songs. I liked that. They played about 7 songs, including a solid rendition of The Animals' “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” (prefaced by the singer announcing “This might be our most subversive song of the evening”) and at least one other cover song that I couldn't quite place, and they concluded with the rousing, upbeat “Dead Man”. All in all, it was a great set of catchy guitar pop, and I wish that the crowd was more respectful so that they (and we) could have fully enjoyed it. Many people chatted through the whole set and, in particular, there was a group of two guys and a girl standing in front of us who were really loud (they'll be mentioned again later...). Also, around 9:25 they said they would play two more songs since they had time, and some lady in the back said, way too loudly too, that she wished they would “Get out of the way, I wanna see the comedian.” It was clearly a comment to a friend that just got projected to the rest of the crowd, but come on people! Can you really be so disrespectful that you don't even realize when you're being disrespectful? Sheesh... But anyway, I am so excited to see them again next Friday at the Brillobox.

Next up was the comedy portion of the show. We were all led into the theatre area on the other side of the curtain behind the makeshift music stage. I decided that if someone has to sit front and center, it might as well be me, so I plopped down right there. But people kept filing in and eventually they set up another row of chairs in front of us, on the ground level below the bleacher platform. After some waiting time, the aforementioned beer-peddler/art-manager walked out to introduce the opening act, somebody named John McIntire. He told a few particularly lame “topical” jokes along the lines of “Hey, guys, have you seen this headline? What's up with that?” I was glad it ended shortly when he introduced the “Cat Power Tribute band” which turned out to be Gab Bonesso in a wig and her friend on guitar. She proceeded to do a pretty good impression of her singing style, but it was short-lived, as she launched into a maniacal freakout, talking to herself loudly about her own fear of people and hitting herself. After a minute she ripped off her shoes and socks and “stabbed” herself between the toes with “heroin” and collapsed, only to be dragged offstage by her legs by the guitar player. It was incredibly surprising and subsequently hilarious.
This was followed, unfortunately, by the opening act again! He did an excruciatingly long set that felt like an hour but was probably only 20 minutes. Every joke was of the form “This event/quote/person is ridiculous. Am I right?” They weren't particularly insightful observations, nor were they interesting takes on the obvious, oft-discussed headlines. I kept rooting for him in my head, “Say something funny!”, but it just didn't happen. At one point, the group of two guys and a girl that had been so chatty during the MOIP set were being chatty again and John called them out on it, saying that he had a big muscly friend in the house (who is an Iraq war vet, he took care to point out, for some reason) who would beat them up. One of the guys responded, “Is he funny?” At that moment, a few people groaned or “Oooh”ed but I kinda chuckled. I thought it was a good opportunity for John to redeem himself, as shooting down nasty hecklers can be. But he couldn't even do that! He just kinda looked down at his notes, repeated how big and muscly and veteran-y his friend is, and launched into another lame joke. Ugh. I was very happy when he concluded his set and introduced Gab.

The final portion of the show was a whirlwind of insane (literally) comedy. I was laughing or smiling the whole time, well except for those short times when I was grimacing and thinking “Is this real or a a joke?” and then I was soon rewarded with the answer: a joke (kind of). For example, Gab made a number of abortion jokes, perhaps because (as she pointed out once or twice) the building we were in is situated next to a Planned Parenthood center. One such joke was about how she got an abortion in college but to make inner peace with herself, she decided to name the unborn baby. She decided on “Saturn Brontosaurus” mostly to ensure that it would be okay whether the baby turned out to be a boy or a girl. It sounds stupid, but in the live act, when she introduces the story and seems to be honestly relating a troubled time from years ago and then morphs it into a twisted one-liner, it works so much better. And this is the larger trend that I noticed in a lot of her material; it has a wholly endearing and earnest quality to it, like she's actually just relating her life to the audience and all of its crazy moments, trends and situations, but she manages to present these observations in a completely humorous way. She can discuss her manic-depression and apparent obsession with drugs, the fact that she's 30 and lives with her mom (who's also her manager), her switch from lesbianism to heterosexuality, the fact that she's dating a man 22 years older than her now, etc. I also found out that her style is impossible to replicate. I tried explaining one of the jokes to some friends later that night, and I just got blank stares, even though that particular joke killed during the show. I just couldn't present it in the same way, and it depends on that so much, apparently.

“Wait a minute, a man 22 years older than her? Wait, did she just make a joke about receiving her watch from her boyfriend and hating it so much that she pretended the instructions were in Japanese and had to go online to figure out how to set it? Wait a minute, the opener made that same joke earlier. OH MY GOD, THEY ARE DATING!” That was my thought process sometime during the middle of her set. Yes, it is totally true, and it is baffling. I can't judge so I won't really say much, but I'm just really confused about what she sees in him.

Anyway, it was a great burst of manic comedy. Who else can talk about her best friend, a blowup Great White shark named Phinneas, and his “bitches”, two blowup clownfish, only to stomp on one and burst it, yelling “Stop being so fucking coy!”, and make it hilarious. I hope that Gab continues doing great standup and gains some popularity. She's way funnier than a lot of the standups I see on Comedy Central's “young talent” or “showcase” shows these days.

Okay, to conclude I'll share my favorite joke from the evening. Gab explained that, at her mom/manager's encouragement, she had hired a "comedy coach" to help her act, and that coach told her she needed to learn to "project" and she wanted to share her progress with the audience. She took a few deep breaths stepped confidently to the microphone and stared at some woman in the front row, and said ". . . Look at you, you're pathetic. What are you, late 20s, early 30s? Bet you live with your parents, still. And look at that haircut!" etc. etc. I overheard Gab say something to a friend in the audience before the show about taping the set to be put online and I hope that happens, mostly so that others can share the hilarity, but also so you can hear me cracking up at that joke. Okay bye.

Meeting of Important People - Brittney Lane Don't Care music video
Gab's "Ghost Car" bit, the joke I failed to explain properly to my friends later on
Gab live @ Club Cafe